My Review of Digium

In a previous post, I mentioned that we switched to Digium Switchvox. Here are some features I really enjoy.

An extension has access to everything

There are no receptionist licenses. There are no addons for basic features such as faxing or voicemail. There is no confusion when it comes to determining a cost. Every extension has access to everything for one low yearly subscription fee.

The admin interface is accessed via web browser

I like web browser software. It means I do not have to install an application to configure a setting and I can access the interface from my mobile phone, tablet, or Chromebook.

It works well with Asterisk

While the extension licenses are cheap ($12/year/extension for titanium support), I have difficulty buying a license for a phone that will probably be used once in a 5 year time span – such as a lobby phone, dorm room phone, or classroom. These extensions just need dial tone and no advanced functionality (contact listing, switchboard, etc.) – having them as an Asterisk extension works great.

Phones are easy to add

Our installer set us up several templates. Using these templates, I can create an extension in under 10 seconds. Adding it to the phone takes an additional 10-60 seconds depending upon the state of the phone.

I can use any phone

There are 3 specific spots in my environment where a cordless phone is vital. With Digium, I can deploy a Grandstream DP715 and call it a day.

The servers are “smart”

The servers are smart in that they start up after a power outage. Not that power outages happen all the time, but occasionally when the UPS battery is depleted, it is nice to know the default is set to power up when there is a power source.